Theory of Moral Sentiments

The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith

Adam Smith explores morals and the reason we feel and act different ways. Do we need to empathise with others? How do intent and outcome work together? If somebody is dropping rocks, they are not likely to receive any punishment. However, if another person walks underneath, the dropper may be punished for hurting them. Is this just? The same action with the same intent had different outcomes and different results. We see that commonly in society today. There is a desire to get retribution and assign blame when something "goes wrong", even if similar behavior has been fine before. Then this is taken another step to declare that similar behavior bad. These are age old questions. Smith does a good job of exploring morality and our understanding of it.

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness

How can you not be attracted to a book that features a yellow bust of Adam Smith with sunglasses? The author treats Adam Smith's writings as aa self help book. The focus is more on his lesser known Theory of Moral Sentiments. This book looks at the morality of the decisions and activities that we make in regular life. A lot of it is based on the Golden Rule. We do good to others like they would have us due to them. Russ Roberts uses an easy-going, conversational delivery to explore the ways that Adam Smith can help you to be happy. Much of this seems contrary to the Wealth of Nations Adam Smith we are used to. Sometimes we just need to kick back and enjoy life rather than be constantly seeking more and more. 

Wealth of Nations

Knowledge products created a course that provides background information on Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations. The focus is on the views of Smith that seem to fly in the face of the modern pop culture view of him. We get details of Smith's disdain for businessmen and respect for common laborers.
Our modern environment seems to fly directly in the face of his views. Even the most "right wing" companies tend to want deregulation only as it benefits them. They are happy to make "regulatory sacrifice". Far from being benevolent, they are merely eyeballing the regulations as a convenient way to raise barriers to entry of new competitors.
Smith also disdained excessive profits. These were seen as a failure of the free market. Instead, these profits should have led to higher incomes for workers and increased competitors. This favoring of workers, however, did not extend to unions, which he saw as placing a barrier to the freedom of workers.

The audiobook is a nice intro to Smith that leads you to rethink common knowledge. Now I want to read the real thing.